Takuma's Task redone
by riptocs
Summary: A Pokemon Expert named Takuma is on a mission to assign each of the Rookie Nine to a Pokemon and help them master a new way of fighting side by side with their new partners.   remaking to start from pre-shippuden


**Chapter I: The Chakra of Pokémon**

**A/N: I rewrote some of these chapters and I'm replacing Sai with Sasuke in Team 7 so this is pre-Shippuden**

_"The practice of focusing our chakra in order to perform tasks that are beyond normal human abilities originates from a formerly popular practice of Pokémon training. Pokémon are essentially animals that have learned how to use chakra in such a powerful way that it even changes their appearance over time so they are noticeably different than even utilitarian ninja animals. Pokémon are hard to find now due to quickly expanding human populations especially in the five kingdoms and many of the ones that are seen are usually owned by Trainers._

"_Trainers specialize in Pokémon combat and instruction and are also usually affluent in the knowledge having to do with how to raise a Pokémon. Pokémon require special care and must spend time in human made devices called Pokéballs in order to properly channel their chakra. Wild Pokémon are not usually as strong as human trained Pokémon for this reason amongst the instruction from the human. Approach wild Pokémon with extreme caution if at all for many can be very territorial and will attack intruding humans."_

"Takuma! You're going to be late!" Jarred from his thoughts, Takuma glared at his mother. "You're supposed to meet with the Hokage today and you're not even packed! I'm proud of you for being a Pokémon expert and all, but please hurry!"

The boy rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I am confident Shou will get me there on time. Try not to worry, I will get going soon."

Takuma closed his book and put it in his red backpack. He then took eight cherry sized red and white spheres from his desk and put all but one in a separate pouch which he hung from his waist. When he got outside, he pushed the button in the middle of the one remaining in his hand and it grew to fit the size of his hand.

"Shou, let's go!" The sphere popped open and a red light burst out from within, landing on the ground and forming a distinct shape before other colors and solidity took its place. Takuma was face to face with a bright orange dragon-like creature with large wings and a burning flame on its tail.

The Pokémon grunted as Takuma easily climbed onto its back, hanging on by a makeshift saddle he had made especially for Shou. They took off easily as Takuma pointed his Pokémon in the right direction. Shou roared with delight and Takuma smiled contentedly. He knew the Charizard loved to fly so he used him for his travels as frequently as he could. Shou let out a gleeful roar as he glided across a warm air current. Takuma smiled, if only it were that simple to please his other Pokémon.

The ride went slowly for an hour and Takuma let down his shoulder length dark brown hair. He spent his time skimming the tree-tops, silently wondering if there were any Pokémon left in the forest. He was sure if there were, they would probably shy away from humans. Perhaps while he was near Konoha, he would search the surrounding forests. He had all but exhausted the forests around his home and he had a collection of the commonly found Pokémon.

Suddenly, Takuma spotted something glinting out of the corner of his eye. Apparently Shou saw it too because he spun in the air quickly to get out of the path of the kunai that was flying towards them. Takuma barely caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure in the forest to the right below hopping from branch to branch.

"We're under attack! Lose them, Shou! Smokescreen!" Shou roared and a stream of black smoke spewed from his mouth. The smoke spread quickly, engulfing the large Pokémon and the surrounding area in the sky. Takuma had to breathe through his shirt in order to keep from choking, but it was better to lessen the chances of an accurate attack.

"Okay, Shou, quickly, to the left!" The fire Pokémon quickly shifted its wings and circled through the smoke before a powerful flap accelerated it out of the coverage and into the open air. From there, he was able to speed up and hit the thermals to give him more of a lift. He didn't let down his guard until the trees became as small as ants on the ground and the wind blew off the remnants of smoke from his clothing.

"Good job, bud." Takuma grinned, proud that even in this country, Pokémon could give ninjas a run for their money.

From then on, Takuma kept his eyes peeled for the large mountain/sculpture that was described to him as the Hokage Monument. That's where he was supposed to make his landing a meet a ninja to be escorted into the village. Shou spotted the monument first and began his descent when Takuma gave him the signal.

The landing itself was nothing special, not as eventful as the time he tried to get Shou to land on an icy mountaintop in search of Snorunt. It was in that instance that Takuma learned that attempting to land on ice didn't come without its fair share of slip-ups (pun intended). Shou refused to go near any area below freezing ever since.

As soon as he dismounted, he spotted a masked man in a green jounin suit reading a book. His hiate was slanted so it covered one eye and his silver hair looked almost unnatural. When he looked closer, he caught the title of said book…Icha Icha Paradise. Takuma face-falled. What sort of professional ninja would read that junk? It was nothing but a series non-stop make-out scenes. Not that he had ever read it of course. Nope. Never.

"You're the Pokémon trainer?" The ninja asked, never even putting down his book. Takuma inwardly fumed at the man's lack of attention, but said nothing. He was never one to bother with those sorts of things.

"Yes, I am Takuma. Ryushi Takuma(1)." The ninja finally put away the book and eyed Shou curiously. "And Shou won't hurt you, unless you plan to attack me, that is."

"Kakashi Hatake." The man's gaze finally went to Takuma's face. "I'll be your escort until we get to the Hokage Tower where you will be briefed by the Hokage himself."

"Fine by me, just let me return Shou." Takuma fished a red and white sphere from his pack and it expanded before a red light emanated from the white button on the side, enveloping the Charizard. The light then disappeared back into the ball, revealing an empty space that the large Pokémon once stood on.

Kakashi raised his one showing eyebrow then came to the conclusion that it was just an odd summoning jutsu. One without hand signals and used a red and white metal object instead.

"Let's go, then." Takuma dropped the suddenly miniature sixed version of the ball into his backpack.

Kakashi nodded and led the curiously strange boy back to the village. He decided that he liked the boy, for whatever odd reason. Takuma seemed collected, not the least bit unnerved from being in a new place, something Kakashi admired. He must be either really trusting, or really confident.

"So…have you ever heard of Pokémon?" Takuma asked, not even slightly winded despite the fast pace they were travelling at, which involved jumping over rooftops and narrowly missing pumping into a stray tree branch, in Takuma's case.

"Only vague legends, which, of course, are hard to separate from truth. There is this one tale that I'm particularly fond of involving one Pokémon named Celebi, a time-travelling guardian of the forests of a distant land."

"Yes, Celebi and Shaymin are both legendary forest dwellers, though nobody has ever obtained tangible proof of either of their existences. They are just fairy tales."

"I suppose, but most stories usually have at least a bit of truth in them."

Takuma frowned, but quickly brushed aside the idea. "Pokémon are extraordinary beings, but time-travel is a bit too farfetched of a theory for me to put much faith in."

"Still…I bet even you don't know the full extent of the abilities of all of the world's Pokémon." Kakashi hid a smirk even before Takuma answered, knowing he made a valid point.

"Point taken…" Takuma muttered.

For those that don't know, in Japanese culture people usually introduce themselves by their family names (last names) then their given names (first names). So in English, Takuma's full name is Takuma Ryushi.


End file.
